Child's drowning ruled accidental; no charges to be filed

Published: Friday, March 15, 2013 at 1:54 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, March 15, 2013 at 5:07 p.m.

OCALA – No charges will be filed in the drowning death of a 3-year-old boy in late January, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

At the conclusion of his investigation, Detective T.J. Watts reviewed the case with several people at the State Attorney's Office, including State Attorney Brad King, and a decision was made to not pursue any criminal charges.

The Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death of Joseph Moreno was drowning, by accident.

On Jan. 24, Watts was called to TimberRidge Medical Center in regard to the case. The boy's aunt told Watts she and the child were in her room watching a movie from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. In the middle of the movie, he left and went to his parent's room. She said she turned off the television and took a nap. She said she woke up and began doing some household chores, the toddler's parents also woke up and asked her about him. Realizing the child was not in the house, they began searching and his father found him in the pool.

The child's mother told Watts she had worked all night at an assisted living facility, until 7 a.m. She said she fed her son and went to bed around 10 a.m. with him and her husband. After waking up and not seeing her son, she said they searched for Joseph and her husband found him in the pool. She described Joseph as very smart. She said he never had any swimming lessons.

The boy's father told Watts he took a nap with his wife around noon and got up around 2:20 p.m. and asked for his son. After finding the boy's body in the pool, he gave him CPR until rescue units arrived.

Joseph's grandfather told the detective he saw the little boy walk by his room around 2 p.m. and a short time later heard everyone yelling for him.

The detective's report noted that the pool did not have safety equipment to prevent the child from accessing it.

<p>OCALA – No charges will be filed in the drowning death of a 3-year-old boy in late January, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.</p><p>At the conclusion of his investigation, Detective T.J. Watts reviewed the case with several people at the State Attorney's Office, including State Attorney Brad King, and a decision was made to not pursue any criminal charges.</p><p>The Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death of Joseph Moreno was drowning, by accident.</p><p>On Jan. 24, Watts was called to TimberRidge Medical Center in regard to the case. The boy's aunt told Watts she and the child were in her room watching a movie from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. In the middle of the movie, he left and went to his parent's room. She said she turned off the television and took a nap. She said she woke up and began doing some household chores, the toddler's parents also woke up and asked her about him. Realizing the child was not in the house, they began searching and his father found him in the pool.</p><p>The child's mother told Watts she had worked all night at an assisted living facility, until 7 a.m. She said she fed her son and went to bed around 10 a.m. with him and her husband. After waking up and not seeing her son, she said they searched for Joseph and her husband found him in the pool. She described Joseph as very smart. She said he never had any swimming lessons.</p><p>The boy's father told Watts he took a nap with his wife around noon and got up around 2:20 p.m. and asked for his son. After finding the boy's body in the pool, he gave him CPR until rescue units arrived.</p><p>Joseph's grandfather told the detective he saw the little boy walk by his room around 2 p.m. and a short time later heard everyone yelling for him.</p><p>The detective's report noted that the pool did not have safety equipment to prevent the child from accessing it.</p><p>Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118 or austin.miller@starbanner.com.</p>